Untitled (Man, Woman, and Dog)

Folk and Self-Taught Art affirms the basic human impluse to create. The museum has long championed self-taught art as an embodiment of the democratic spirit. It is one of the only major American museums to advocate for a populist and uniquely American voice within the context of what is traditionally considered great art. These works by untrained artists are powerfully evocative of a personal vision.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Commemorative Guide. Nashville, TN: Beckon Books, 2015.

Credit: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson